The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [28]
‘Let’s go!’ said Hanzo, pulling on Jack’s arm.
They hurried down the main road and out of the village. Hanzo scampered ahead along a narrow track that twisted through some woods towards the bottom of the valley. It was barely dawn, the birds just beginning their morning chorus. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Jack caught up with Hanzo in a small hidden glade where a brook lazily wound its way through the trees.
Soke was already waiting for them. He welcomed Jack with a bow. ‘I trust it’s not too early for you.’
‘Not at all,’ replied Jack, bowing and yawning at the same time.
‘Dawn and dusk are the times to see and not be seen. Perfect conditions for training and missions.’ Soke glanced over Jack’s shoulder. ‘Good, now that we’re all here, we can begin.’
Jack looked around, but apart from Hanzo, the glade was deserted. Having been used to formal classes at the Niten Ichi Ryū, he was somewhat surprised there were no other students.
Soke smiled ruefully. ‘Today’s lesson will focus on the Art of Stealth, perhaps the most crucial set of skills you need to master.’
All of a sudden, a rock unfolded into Tenzen. A boy emerged from a clump of bushes. Two shinobi appeared from behind trees. Materializing out of the grass, more ninja students revealed themselves. Jack almost jumped out of his skin when Miyuki dropped down beside him, silent as a ghost.
‘Easily spooked, aren’t you?’ she said.
Regaining his composure, Jack smiled amiably. ‘I certainly won’t be playing hide-and-seek with you!’
‘They were practising gotonpo, the Art of Concealment,’ explained Soke. ‘Since ninjutsu is primarily about evasion and escape, the best way to achieve this is not to be seen in the first place.’
Soke indicated for Tenzen to return to the edge of the clearing.
‘By applying the Ring of Earth, a ninja blends with the environment. See how Tenzen becomes one with the tree and disappears.’
Even though Jack knew where Tenzen was, he could hardly make him out. The ninja merely looked like a bulge in the trunk.
‘Or if there’s no immediate coverage,’ Soke continued, ‘you must break up your body’s outline. A human form is too easily recognizable. So learn to lose your shape. Watch Tenzen become a rock.’
Emerging from behind the tree, Tenzen squatted down into a ball, folding his arms round his body, and became perfectly still. In the shadowy light of dawn, Jack wouldn’t have given Tenzen a second glance.
‘Now you try it,’ instructed Soke.
Jack went over and crouched beside Tenzen. Adopting the same posture, he tried not to move. After a few moments, he heard sniggering from one of the students. Jack looked up. It was the boy who’d hidden behind the bushes. He was about Jack’s age, skinny with close-cropped hair, pencil-thin lips and tight, mean eyes.
‘He can’t do it!’ jeered the boy. ‘He looks like a big white daikon radish in the dirt!’
‘You’ve made your point, Shiro,’ stated Soke, giving the boy a stern look. ‘Jack, your blond hair does give you away. You need to cover it in future. Also, never look directly at your enemy during concealment. Otherwise their instinct will sense your presence.’
Jack nodded, all of a sudden self-conscious about his appearance. Maybe he was more suited to being a samurai than a ninja. Soke beckoned him and Tenzen to rejoin the group.
‘It’s possible to hide anywhere – behind walls, beneath bushes, inside water barrels, below floors and even in plain sight. Have I told you of the time I was caught out in an open field, a troop of samurai in hot pursuit?’
‘How did you escape?’ asked Hanzo on cue.
‘I pretended to be a scarecrow, of course!’
The students all laughed and Jack realized it was a well-told story. ‘Samurai are so stupid,’ he heard Miyuki mutter. As much as Jack wanted to defend their honour, he thought it prudent to